Card games utilizing a novel shuffle and dealing methodology

ABSTRACT

A monitor screen is provided on which card symbols may be provided for use in a video poker game. In the video poker game, the player makes a wager. A predetermined number of initial cards are dealt from a set of cards to form an initial array of cards. The cards are randomly dealt either face up or face down. The player selects one group of cards to hold, the card(s) selected being displayed face up into the final hand area. The player then selects at least a second group of cards from the initial array that are displayed face up in the final hand area. After a predetermined number of cards are selected, the final hand may be considered complete, or may be completed by cards drawn from the remainder of the deck. The outcome for this final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electronic poker games suitable for use in casinos and other gaming enterprises. The invention further relates to video gaming play in which cards are randomly dealt either face up or face down according to a predetermined probability.

2. Background of the Art

In the last 20 years, video poker has become enormously popular with the casino player who prefers a game that requires decision-making, as opposed to slot machine games that are based purely on chance. Although video poker is a randomly-dealt game of chance, there is an element of skill involved in the gameplay. After the player is dealt an initial hand, usually consisting of five cards face up, the player may select which cards to hold and which cards to discard. (Rules usually allow the player to hold none, one, some or all of the initially dealt cards.) Replacement cards are provided for any discarded cards, and the final hand is evaluated for wins according to a predetermined paytable. By applying an optimal strategy in the hold/discard phase, the player can increase his chance of winning and/or decrease the average house hold.

There are dozens of standard video poker game variations, and all of these variations utilize the aforementioned gameplay. Jacks or Better is generally considered the most universal game, and is the basis for most other variations such as Bonus Poker and Double Bonus Poker. Variations such as Deuces Wild and Joker Poker provide the added feature of wild card play, in which certain cards may be considered to be any other card, so as to enable the player to more easily make a winning hand.

In addition to the games being offered in different variations, video poker machine manufacturers have striven to provide unique formats in which to play the variations. The most successful of these are the Multiplay® inventions by Ernest W. Moody (owned by International Game Technologies, Inc.) that allow a player to play, for instance, up to 100 hands of poker at one time. Another popular format, also owned by IGT, provides escalating payout multipliers for winning hands that directly follow winning hands. Yet even these improvements still rely on the same underlining gameplay techniques of holding face-up cards from an initial hand, replacing any discards, and determining payouts, if any. And once a player has mastered optimum play when choosing which cards to hold/discard, playing any of these variations or formats can become ritualistic and monotonous.

Previous art has attempted to provide different and exciting ways to play video poker, but has not as yet attempted to dramatically change the basic underlining gameplay to provide players with unique initial deal options, new choices and intriguing strategies.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,625 (D′Avanzo) discloses a card game wherein each player first places three separate wagers of equal value. Then, a dealer deals each player three face-up cards corresponding to each wager and deals himself or herself one card face up and one card face down. Two of the player cards are designated Blackjack cards and along with the dealer's face up card form two separate Blackjack hands. The third card is a bonus card that the player may decide to move to either of the two Blackjack hands along with its corresponding wager. Otherwise, the bonus card and corresponding wager is forfeited. Once a decision regarding the bonus card has been made, the player plays the two Blackjack hands, both hands including the dealer's face up card, according to the conventional rules of Blackjack. Payouts correspond to conventional Blackjack.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,981 (Parker) describes a method of playing a card game including steps of selecting a combination of cards in an at least apparently random manner, the combination including zero or more special cards (not a conventional wild card such as a joker), and determining whether the combination results in a win or lose state. The method may allow at least some of the cards in the combination to be presented face-down initially to a player and the method further includes steps of: allowing the player to turn one or more of the cards face-up, and using the card(s) that have been turned face-up as at least part of one or more further combinations of cards.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,358,144, 6,146,271, 6,135,882, and 5,816,915 (Kadlic, et al.) disclose an electronic video draw poker machine that is provided with a multi-hand screen display that can show a plurality of five card draw poker hands. A separate five card poker hand is displayed in each quadrant of the screen display with each five card hand being dealt from its associated, separate deck of playing cards. The initial deal of each five card hand is two cards face up and three cards face down. The player selects one of the sets of two face up cards to continue play. After the player has selected which set of two face up cards he wishes to play, the selected two face up cards are duplicated into the other three hand positions to replace the two face up cards in that hand position. The remaining face down cards in each hand are then revealed. The game then continues in the conventional manner with the player discarding and drawing replacement cards with respect to each of the four separate five card hands in an attempt to improve each hand. After the draw step is completed, each of the final five card hands are compared to a pay table based on poker hand ranking to determine if the player has achieved a winning combination.

United States Patent Application Number 20060030400 (Mathis) discloses a skill game that operates according to the look and feel of a game of chance. The skill game is, for example, a traditional game of chance modified so that a player's skill substantially determines the outcome of the game. In one embodiment, the skill game is a card game with face down cards and the chance elements of the card game are reduced or eliminated by providing a player of the skill game information about the face down cards. An example embodiment is wager acceptance, random prize determination, then skill game play. In one embodiment, the amount of skill required is adjustable to meet varying regulatory and gaming guidelines and/or operator goals. In one embodiment, the skill game pits players against each other and is played on a skill game machine that does not resemble a slot machine.

It is an objective of this invention to provide players with new and enticing features that will stimulate player interest and increase time on the machine. In particular, the present invention seeks to provide the player with gameplay that differs from traditional video poker in that the cards in the initial deal are randomly dealt either face up or face down. In addition, the player preferably makes two consecutive and distinct hold choices, the second hold choice being influenced by the completed first hold choice. This new strategy-driven gameplay will heighten the player's excitement and expectations while eliminating the monotony often experienced in standard video poker gameplay.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A monitor screen is provided on which card symbols may be provided for use in a video poker game. In the video poker game, the player makes a wager to play an underlying poker game consisting of at least a single hand of poker consisting of a predetermined number of cards. A predetermined number of initial cards is randomly dealt from a standard deck or decks of 52 cards (or up to 54 cards including jokers) to form an initial array of cards separate from a final hand display area. The cards are randomly dealt either face up or face down according a predetermined probability, i.e., if the probability is 50%, then each card has a 50/50 chance of being dealt face up and a 50/50 chance of being dealt face down. The cards are preferably arranged in at least two groups of at least one card each, the groupings having an equal number of cards or a differing number of cards. The player selects one group of cards to hold, the cards from said group being displayed face up into the final hand area. The player then selects at least a second group of cards from the initial array that are then added to and displayed face up in the final hand area. If the number of face up cards in the final hand area has equaled a predetermined number of cards in the hand, the outcome for this final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable. If the number of face up cards in the final hand area has exceeded the predetermined number of cards in the hand, the outcome for this final hand is evaluated as a “best-of” hand according to a predetermined paytable. (For example, if the final hand is predetermined to have five cards, and there are six cards in the final hand area, then the best 5 out of 6 cards are considered the final hand for evaluation.) If the number of face up cards in the final hand area is less than the predetermined number of cards in the hand, additional cards from the remainder of the deck are added to complete the hand. The remainder of the deck may or may not include the unselected cards from the initial array. The outcome for this final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable. After any of the aforementioned evaluations, any wins are then provided to the player.

Those trained in the art will appreciate that these play options are exemplary and are not intended to dictate an exclusive method of play, nor limit or restrict specific gameplay. This invention may be played in the aforementioned single-hand game format as well as in a multihand format. The play methods may be utilized with any standard non-wild video poker game versions, as well as with standard wild video poker game versions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a monitor screen of a video poker machine with the random deal of 10 initial cards, randomly dealt face up or face down, as well as a display area for a 5-card hand.

FIG. 2 shows the same game at a later stage.

FIG. 3 shows the same game at a later stage.

FIG. 4 shows the same game at a later stage.

FIG. 5 shows the same game at a later stage.

FIG. 6 shows the same game at a later stage.

FIG. 7 shows the same game at a later stage.

FIG. 8 shows the same game at a final stage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A monitor screen is provided on which card symbols may be provided for use in a video poker game. In the video poker game, the player makes a wager to play an underlying poker game consisting of at least one single hand of poker consisting of a predetermined number of cards. A predetermined number of initial cards is randomly dealt from a standard deck or decks of 52 cards (or up to 54 cards including jokers or specialty cards) to form an initial array of cards, displayed separately from a final hand display area. The cards are randomly dealt either face up or face down according a predetermined probability, i.e., if the probability is 50%, then each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up; if the probability is 30%, then each card has a 30% chance of being dealt face up. The cards are preferably arranged in at least two groups of at least one card each, and may be arranged in groups of varying number of cards. The player selects one group of cards to hold, presses the draw button to lock in the choice, and the card(s) from said group are displayed face up into the final hand area. If the number of cards in the final card area has not equaled a predetermined number of cards, the player then selects at least a second group of cards from the initial array, presses the draw button to lock in the choice, and those said cards are then added to and displayed face up in the final hand area. As soon as the predetermined number of cards is reached, the final hand may be considered complete, or may completed by cards drawn from the remainder of the deck. The remainder of the deck may or may not contain cards in the unselected groups. The outcome for this final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are then provided to the player.

A first preferred embodiment of the present invention requires a wager to play a 5-card video poker game. An area for the 5-card player hand is shown on the monitor, with no actual cards as yet being displayed. After the wagering is completed, the machine initiates the deal, wherein 10 cards are each randomly dealt either face up or face down from a standard 52-card deck to a separate area on the screen. Each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up. The cards are displayed in five groups of two cards each. The player selects one group, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are displayed face up as the first two cards in the player hand. These first two cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. The player then selects a second group, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those two cards are added face up to the player hand. The remaining six cards in the three unselected groups are added to the remainder of the deck (for a total of 48 cards) and a single card is then randomly dealt from this depleted deck to complete the 5-card player hand. This final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are provided to the player.

A second preferred embodiment of the present invention requires a wager to play a 5-card video poker game. An area for the 5-card player hand is shown on the monitor, with no actual cards as yet being displayed. After the wagering is completed, the machine initiates the deal, wherein 15 cards are each randomly dealt either face up or face down from a standard 52-card deck to a separate area on the screen. Each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up. The cards appear in three groups of three cards each, and three groups of two cards each. The player selects one group of either two or three cards each, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are displayed face up as the first cards in the player hand. These first cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. If the player first selected a group of three cards, the player then selects one of the groups of two cards; if the player first selected a group of two cards, the player then selects one of the groups of three cards. The player makes this second selection, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are added face up to complete the player hand. This final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are provided to the player.

A third preferred embodiment of the present invention requires a wager to play a 6-card video poker game. An area for the 6-card player hand is shown on the monitor, with no actual cards as yet being displayed. After the wagering is completed, the machine initiates the deal, wherein 10 cards are each randomly dealt either face up or face down from a standard 52-card deck to a separate area on the screen. Each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up. The cards appear in five groups of two cards each. The player selects one group, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are displayed face up as the first two cards in the player hand. These first two cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. The player then selects a second group from the remaining groups, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those two cards are added face up to the player hand. These additional two cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. The player makes a final selection from the remaining groups, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those two cards complete the player hand. This final hand is evaluated as the best 5-out-of-6 cards according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are provided to the player.

An additional feature may be added to the previous embodiments. Before the player has placed a wager to play the game, the player may be prompted to select (using physical buttons or touchscreen buttons) one of a plurality of available percentages. These percentages may range from 0% to 100%, and reflect the chances that any initially dealt card has to be dealt face up. For instance, if the player chooses “30%”, each initially dealt card has a 30% chance that it will be dealt face up. Relative to a 50% chance and its associated predetermined paytable, the choice of 30% would offer a higher paytable, and the choice of 70%, for example, would offer a lower paytable.

An alternate feature offers an “Auto-Lock” button (physical or touchscreen) that would allow for faster play. In any of the above embodiments, upon the “Auto-Lock” selection by the player (the selection occurring before the wager), the player's selection of a particular group would automatically appear in the player hand without having to press the draw button. This would facilitate a faster gameplay, but negates any chance that the player has to change his choice.

Reference to the Figures will assist in further understanding of the practice of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a video poker machine monitor screen 2 with a card area (4, 6, 8, 10, 12) for five final player hand cards. An initial deal of 10 cards (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32) from an original deck of 52 cards is shown, the cards being randomly dealt face up or face down. Five touchscreen HOLD buttons (34, 36, 38, 40, 42) are shown. Hold button 34 is for the selection of the two-card group incorporating card 14 and card 16. Hold button 36 is for the selection of the two-card group incorporating card 18 and card 20. Hold button 38 is for the selection of the two-card group incorporating card 22 and card 24. Hold button 40 is for the selection of the two-card group incorporating card 26 and card 28. Hold button 42 is for the selection of the two-card group incorporating card 30 and card 32.

FIG. 2 refers to the game elements shown in FIG. 1 with selection of Hold button 40 shown highlighted for the selection of cards 26 and 28.

FIG. 3 refers to the game elements shown in FIG. 2 with the selected cards 26 (King of Diamonds) and 28 (King of Hearts) now being displayed face up as the first two cards 4 and 6 in the final player hand.

FIG. 4 refers to the game elements shown in FIG. 3 with selection of Hold button 36 shown highlighted for the selection of cards 18 and 20.

FIG. 5 refers to the game elements shown in FIG. 4 with the selected cards 18 (7 of Spades) and 20 (King of Clubs) now being displayed face up as the second two cards 8 and 10 in the final player hand.

FIG. 6 refers to the game elements shown in FIG. 5 with unchosen initial deal cards (14, 16, 22, 24, 30, 32) being deleted and returned to the remainder of the deck (for a total of 48 cards in the depleted deck).

FIG. 7 refers to the game elements shown in FIG. 6 and shows the draw result, with the deal of one card 44 (8 of Spades) from the depleted deck being dealt into the final card area 12 to complete the final player hand.

FIG. 8 refers to the game elements shown in FIG. 7 and shows a final resolution and win 46.

The play of the technology may be extended to other steps, such as if specific cards or specific card ranks are disclosed in at least one of dealer's hands and players' hands, players or dealers must turn additional cards over for view at the table. For example, if there are wild cards or jokers in the set of playing cards, when the dealer displays a wild card, the dealer may have to reveal at least one additional card to provide more information to a player.

Although specific examples and specific images have been provided in this discussion, these specifics are intended to be only support for the generic concepts of the invention and are not intended to be absolute limits in the scope of the technology discussed. 

1. A method of playing a video poker game comprising: a player placing a wager on the video poker game to play at least one player hand comprising a predetermined number of cards; displaying a set of playing card symbols from a complete set of playing cards comprising a predetermined number of displayed playing cards randomly placed face up or face down according to a predetermined probability; arranging the displayed set of playing card symbols in at least two groups of at least one card each; the player selecting at least a first group to be displayed face up into a player hand area until the number of cards in the player hand area is a predetermined number of cards; dealing additional cards from the remainder of the complete set of playing cards to the player hand to complete the player hand if the predetermined number of cards in the player hand area is less then the predetermined number of cards in the player hand; determining a final player's hand; determining if the player's hand comprises a win according to a predetermined paytable; providing a win to the player based on the determination.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of cards in each group is equal.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of cards in each group is not equal.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the player is permitted to select a probability from a set of probabilities that any card be dealt face up.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the remainder of the deck may or may not include unselected cards in the displayed groups of cards.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the player selects a group of cards by depressing a physical button or touchscreen button and then secondarily requiring locking the selection by an alternate button input.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the player selects a group of cards by depressing a physical button or touchscreen button without the requirement of a second “locking” step.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein if specific cards or specific card ranks are disclosed in at least one of dealer's hands and players' hands, players or dealers must turn additional cards over for view at the table. 